COMPANY

HISTORY

Mike Chapman’s lifetime pursuit of increased engine performance has made him a legend in the world of motorsports. It’s with this participation in racing that Chapman also found the desire to create a fabric capable of protecting his friends and colleagues within the industry from the risk of burn injury or death due to fire. With the goal of creating a non-flammable fabric that could be used in racing suits in both the professional and amateur circuits, Chapman travelled across the globe seeking the expertise of the world’s best textile engineers, and began working to create a solution that would revolutionize racing..

Partnering with these engineers, Chapman identified a combination of fibers with incredible promise. Chapman was able to create a fabric that was inherently non-flammable, that would not burn, melt or ignite when exposed to direct flame, was impervious to molten metal splash and had exceptional electrical resistance.

Resulting from this discovery, Chapman Thermal Products began manufacturing, marketing and selling this new textile under the brand name, CarbonX® in 1999. The company pursued, and was subsequently granted, patent protection in the United States and Canada for OPAN-blended textiles (patent numbers 6,358,686 and 6,358,608), thus eliminating potential competitors’ ability to create fabrics capable of delivering the same levels of persistent protection offered by CarbonX.

To date, CarbonX fabrics’ incredible level of protection against fire, arc flash and molten metal have saved countless lives. For example, in late February of 2004, CarbonX fabrics persisted against a molten metal spill with temperatures exceeding 3000°F, saving the life of Donny Dean of Charleston, North Carolina. As his wife, Sara Dean, later wrote,

“…molten slag exploded all over his body. The steel melted the safety belt on the bobcat in which he couldn't free himself. He was wearing the normal steel mill greens, but he had worn his CarbonX underwear that night due to the cold evening here in Charleston. The greens he was wearing burnt off of him all most completely. The CarbonX hood and underwear he had on saved his life...The CarbonX hood did its job, as well as the long underwear. He would be dead right now if not for your products.”

Two-time NHRA Top Fuel Champion, Larry Dixon, refuses to wear anything but CarbonX when climbing into his 8,000-horsepower dragster, especially after walking away from a fiery accident in 2003 completely unscathed.

“My car blew up. It was in pieces on the track, engulfed in flames. Not having to worry about the fire allowed me to concentrate on safely stopping the car so I could get out of it alive. Because I was wearing CarbonX, I was able to make it home to have dinner with my family that night."

These are just two stories illustrating how CarbonX can be the difference between life and death in some of the most dangerous scenarios in the motorsports, industrial, fire, and tactical markets. For more information about how CarbonX can provide the ultimate protective solution for your risk, visit www.carbonx.com.

AWARDS

During its history, Chapman has been recognized with the following awards: